RPK, Political Action group targets House Democratic Leadership with radio ads

With the House once again hanging in the balance Republicans are taking their fight directly to the districts of House Democratic leaders.

A series of ads from the Republican Party of Kentucky and an Independent Expenditure group, Kentucky Tomorrow, Inc. PAC, is casting House Speaker Greg Stumbo, Majority Floor Leader Rocky Adkins as out-of-touch with their districts.

Former staffer for U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, Jennifer Krantz, President of Kentucky Tomorrow, which launched in late July, according to Federal Election Commission records said “it is important to inform the voters of Kentucky what their representatives are up to in Frankfort, and to hold them accountable for their bad votes and failing to represent their districts.”

The ads from Kentucky Tomorrow focus on the so called “beer bill” from 2015, which prevents breweries from holding distribution and retail licenses, bringing them in line with the three-tiered approach for companies making, shipping and selling wines and distilled spirits. The radio ad running across 20 stations in the eastern Kentucky region says the bill cost Kentuckians jobs.

The ads says, Stumbo, and others promotes the “Obama Clinton agenda.”

“Kentucky Tomorrow looks forward to continue holding Frankfort politicians accountable for their actions, and bringing a conservative majority to the State House come this November” Krantz said in a press release.

Listen to the ads attacking Stumbo, Adkins and House Caucus Chair Sannie Overly in the clip below.

Also attacking Stumbo and Adkins is the Republican Party of Kentucky.

The RPK launched its own ads against Stumbo in his home turf in Floyd and Pike County linking the Democratic leader with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The ad goes a step further by linking the Democratic president and presidential nomiee with statements they have made attacking the coal industry.

“I cannot begin to fathom how Greg Stumbo rectifies his representing the people of Floyd and Pike Counties with his support for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama,” said RPK spokesman Tres Watson. “It boggles the mind how a man who purports to represent the heart of East Kentucky coal country could endorse the two politicians working the hardest to kill what coal jobs remain in the region.”

Stumbo is being challenged by Republican Larry Brown, an attorney who lives in Prestonsburg this cycle. In a statement, Stumbo vowed to make the race about the facts.

“They must be feeling really desperate if they are willing to tell such outrageous lies this early in the contest,” he said. “Look at my legislative history, because the real truth is there. Anybody can make up lies. This campaign will be about ‘fact vs fiction.’”

Adkins is also being targeted by the RPK. The ad seeks to position the longtime representative as an outsider in his own district.

The Sandy Hook Democrat did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ad.

Adkins faces Wendy Fletcher, a nurse practitioner who serves as president of the Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives in the race.

Nick Storm

Nick Storm is the Anchor and Managing Editor of Pure Politics available exclusively on Spectrum News. Pure Politics is the only nightly program dedicated to Kentucky politics. Nick covers all of the political heavyweights and his investigative work brings to light issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, like his coverage of the backlog of DNA rape kits waiting to be tested in Kentucky. Nick is also working on a feature length bio documentary Outlaw Poet: A documentary on Ron Whitehead. Pure Politics airs weeknight at 7 and 11:30 on Spectrum News. Follow Nick on Twitter @NStorm_Politics. Nick can be reached at 502-792-1107 or nicholas.storm@charter.com.